China's newly discovered gold mine could be the world's largest

Scientists say they have discovered two gold mines with record reserves of up to 1,000 tonnes in central and northeastern China. If proven, these would be among the largest in the world, even surpassing the largest known gold mine in South Africa.

The Hunan provincial geological bureau announced the discovery of a super-large gold mine with estimated reserves of more than 1,000 tons of gold, which could be worth more than 600 billion yuan (US$83 billion) in central China.

A member of the geological bureau told Chinese state media that they discovered the gold mine using new exploration technologies, such as 3D geological monitoring.

At the same time, another gold mine was discovered in Liaoning province, northeastern China thanks to new gold-searching strategies.

Information about the giant gold mine in Liaoning appeared in the China Mining Journal. The information describes the gold mine as being more than 3,000 meters wide and more than 2,500 meters deep, located in the North China Craton - one of the oldest stable parts of the Earth's crust in the world.

China is trying to find gold mines.

Gold prospecting operations were conducted in the area in the 1980s. Although some metals were found, the scale and industrial value were limited.

A 2009 report said that exploration by a local geological team found more gold in the area than expected, prompting geologists to adjust their exploration strategy.

“In the new exploration phase in 2024, a hybrid exploration method is applied. Currently, all construction boreholes have found ore,” the team wrote.

The gold mine is low-grade gold, meaning the amount of gold per ton of mined material is low. However, the team says preliminary tests indicate a gold recovery rate of 65-91%, making it an “easy to mine” gold mine with great economic potential.

"There has been significant progress in mine exploration and research. More than 430 tons of gold reserves have been found in Liaoning in recent years," the team added.

An expert from the World Gold Council said the estimate of reserves in Hunan “sounds ambitious,” according to mining trade magazine The Northern Miner.

The South Deep gold mine in northeastern South Africa remains the largest gold mine by proven reserves, with nearly 1,000 tonnes. Further exploration is needed to determine whether Chinese mines will surpass it.

China is the world's largest producer of gold ore, with output reaching 377 tonnes by 2024, according to the China Gold Association. While it holds the top spot in terms of gold production, the country is dwarfed by South Africa, Australia and Russia in terms of proven gold reserves.

Despite some experts' skepticism about reserves, the discovery of two large gold deposits could help China maintain its gold production pace and stem a decline in output.

According to Trach Duong (TPO)

Source: https://baogialai.com.vn/mo-vang-trung-quoc-vua-phat-hien-co-the-lon-nhat-the-gioi-post317342.html